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 Indian Game
Large fowl Origin: Great Britain Classification: Heavy, hard feather Egg colour: Tinted Weight: Large fowl; male 3.6kg min, female 2.7kg min. Suggested bantam not to exceed; male 2kg, female 1.5kg
Originally created in Cornwall using the red Asil, black-breasted red Old English Game and the Malay. Developed for its abundance of breast meat, it is unequalled. Indian Game males are often crossed with female Sussex, Dorking and Orpingtons – for their white flesh and shanks – to produce extra-large crosses. Jubilee Indian Game are similar to Indian Game but their lacing is white, while the Indians’ is black. The two varieties are often interbred. Characteristics Male Carriage: upright, commanding and courageous, the back sloping downwards towards the tail. A powerful and broad bird, very active, sprightly and vigorous. Type: body very thick and compact and very broad at the shoulders, the shoulder butts showing prominently but the bird must not be hollow-backed, the body tapering towards the tail. Back flat and broad at the shoulders, but the bird must not be flat sided. Elegance is required with substance. Breast wide, fairly deep and prominent, but well-rounded and rising to the vent. Wings short and carried close to the body, well rounded at the points, closely tucked at ends and carried rather high in front. Tail medium length with short, narrow secondary sickles and tail coverts, close and hard; carried in line with the back. Head: of medium length and thick, not so keen as in English Game, nor as thick as in the Malay; somewhat beetle-browed but not nearly as much as in the Malay. Skull broad. Beak well curved and stout where set on the head, giving the bird a powerful appearance. Eyes full and bold. Comb pea-type (three longitudinal ridges, the centre one being double the height of those either side), small, set closely on the head. Ear-lobes and wattles small, smooth and of fine texture. Neck: of medium length and slightly arched. Hackle short, barely covering the base of the neck. Legs and feet: legs very strong and thick. Thighs round and stout, but not as long as in the Malay. Shanks short and well scaled. The length of shank must be sufficient to give the bird a ‘gamey’ appearance. Feet strong and well spread. Toes, long, strong, straight, the back toe low and nearly flat on the ground, nails well shaped. Plumage: Short, hard and close
Female Similar to the male, allowing for normal sexual differences, except for the tail which is well venetianed, but close, is carried low but somewhat higher than the male’s.
Colours Dark, Jubilee, double laced blue. In both sexes and all colours, beak horn, yellow or horn striped with yellow. Eyes from pearl to pale red. Face, comb, wattles and ear-lobes rich red. Legs rich orange or yellow, the deeper the better, nails to match beak.
Defects Crooked breast of toes. Flat shins, rusty hackles, bad shape, heavy feathering, white in hackles. Smallness of size, long legs and thighs, twisted hackle. Disqualifications: Male; crooked back, beak, legs. Squirrel tail, in-knees, bent legs, flat sides. Single or Malay comb, red hackles. Females, as above, plus in the Dark, too light, too dark or mealy ground colour, and defective markings. |